Hope and Memory
by Numb3rsfan
Summary: The Partridge's world is shattered when Keith develops a brain tumor.  Will Keith survive or will the tumor kill him?
1. Shades of Grey

**Hope and Memory**

by

**Numb3rsfan**

Warnings: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, AU with possible OOC connections

Rating: PG-13

Author's Note: The underlying story is based off of the _Cloud Ten_ film _The Miracle of the Cards_

Disclaimer: I don't own the show The Partridge Family and am in no way affiliated with said tv show. I also do not own _The Miracle of the Cards._ This fic is purely for fun.

Summary: The Partridge's world is shattered when Keith develops a brain tumor. Will Keith survive or will the tumor kill him?

Chapter One: **Shades of Grey **

Keith sat in his bedroom, his guitar on his lap and his guitar pick in his hand. He had gotten back from the doctor an hour ago because of an ear ache that he had been having for several days. Keith recalled the shocked expression on the doctor's face; remembered the disbelief in the other man's voice when Keith told him about the pain. Apparently the doctor thought the infection was so slight that Keith shouldn't have been able to feel it! Shows you how much the doctor knew!

Despite his disbelief the doctor had prescribed an antibiotic before sending Keith and his mother on their way. A short time later, with the filled prescription in hand, Keith and his mother arrived back home; Shirley sending Keith straight up to bed to rest...after he had taken his medication of course.

Even with the medication down him, Keith couldn't get comfortable so he had grabbed his guitar and guitar pick and began to aimlessly play the melody to one song after another. First was _I Think I Love You_, followed by _Rainmaker, Singing My Song, Listen to the Sound_ and _Twenty Four Hours a Day._

Now Keith was unsure of what to play. Almost as if his fingers chose a song of their own accord, he began to play a song that he had heard on the radio and records for the past several years.

"I wanna be free!" he began to sing, "Like the bluebirds flying by me. Like the waves down on the blue sea. If your love has to tie me, don't try me, Say good-bye."

A sudden knock on his door caused Keith to stop mid strum. He looked up just as the door opened to admit Danny who was still in his blue and red bathrobe.

"How are you feeling?"

Keith blinked. Had he heard right? Danny just asked him how he was feeling? Okay what was the catch to this question? Normally Danny didn't open his mouth unless there was some money to be earned.

"What'd the doctor say?"

Again another question. Why was Danny so interested in what the doctor had told him? "He told me I have a slight ear infection. He gave me some medication and sent me home." Keith said. The answer was short, sweet and to the point...and hopefully enough to quell Danny's curiosity.

"Which brings me back to my first question. How are you feeling?" Danny replied.

Keith sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Sometimes Danny could be so annoying with his feigned worry.

"If it's tomorrow's concert you are worried about, don't worry. I won't cause us to miss it." Keith said.

Concerts...especially paying concerts meant the world to Danny; that was quite obvious to everyone. He just always had to make a buck, so perhaps that was why Danny was so concerned with Keith's health. If Keith was sick then they might miss the concert. If they missed the concert then they wouldn't get paid and that was something that Danny hated.

"What makes you think I'm worried about the concert?" Danny asked, shrugging his shoulders, but the look that Keith gave him let Danny know he wasn't fooling anyone.

"Well...as long as you are alright." Danny said, backing towards the door even as Keith shot back, "I'll be even better if you leave!"

Taking the hint, Danny left his older brother's room, closing the door behind him. Now alone in his room again, Keith started to try to play another song but he couldn't settle on what to play so he gave up after ten minutes. Leaning his acoustic guitar against the wall, Keith placed the pick on his desk and moved back to his bed, gently flopping down on to it.

Truth be told his ear ache hadn't abated yet. It still hurt...well...mostly it felt as if he had water in his ears, which was more of an annoyance than a pain; it only really became a pain when he stuck Q-tips in his ears to clean them.

Keith shut his eyes, hoping to catch a little bit of shut eye before dinner.

He must have dozed off without realizing it because when he woke up the sun had set and the smell of cooking food had reached him through his closed bedroom door. Sitting up he scratched his head before a realization hit. His ear ache was completely gone! For the first time in days he felt one hundred percent!

"See...what'd I tell you Danny." He murmured as he got to his feet and left his bedroom. He took the short trek down the stairs and in to the dining room where the rest of the family was.

Seeing her son, Shirley smiled. "I was just going to let you sleep; didn't want to wake you. How are you feeling?" she asked as Keith took his seat at the table beside Danny.

"It's alright mom. To be honest with you I feel better; actually starving." he replied, eying the wonderful looking plate of spaghetti in front of him.

Shirley was glad to hear that her son was hungry. The past few days he had hardly eaten anything. That coupled with the fact that he was almost always lazying about on the couch or in his room...and the ear aches had really started to worry her, but now hearing that he felt better and was hungry caused Shirley to smile once more.

"Well eat up, there's more if you are still hungry." she said. With that, everyone started to eat their food. For once there was actually comfortable silence, with nothing heard except the occasional scrape of a fork sliding across a plate.

Even with Keith being as hungry as he was, he was still the last one to finish eating. Chris, Tracy, Laurie and Danny had all finished and had gone in to the living room to watch tv while Shirley had begun to take the dishes to the kitchen.

On her third trip back to the dining room, she saw that Keith had finally finished eating.

"That was really good mom." he said, a smile on his face. Shirley smiled again; getting compliments was always nice from her children.

"Well thank you." She replied, collecting some glasses and silverware from the table. She had just turned her back and had taken two steps to the kitchen door when she heard something that terrified her. Whirling around she saw her eldest son, hands on the table, hunched over his dinner plate as he began to throw up everything he had eaten.

While seeing any of her kids so sick that they threw up was frightening to Shirley, seeing this was even more so because Keith was vomiting like an explosion, which was not normal.

Rushing back to the table, Shirley put the dirty dishes back on the table before gently guiding Keith back in to his chair. Keith's face was covered in a fine sheen of sweat and his eyes were glazed over as if he wasn't entirely there anymore.

"Keith...Keith?" Shirley asked, trying to get some kind of response from her son, but no response was forthcoming. Shirley glanced at her children who were standing there in the doorway watching the spectacle; worry on all of their faces. All of them had heard Keith get sick and now seeing how he looked everyone knew that something was very wrong.

"Okay that's it. Danny get him a blanket, Laurie stay here and watch the kids!" Shirley quickly said. She rose up and grabbed her purse and car keys even as Danny ran to the hall closet and picked out a blanket. Unfolding the blanket he handed it to his mother who helped Keith to stand and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders.

With help from Danny and Laurie, Shirley got Keith out to the car. When the cool night air hit his skin, Keith snapped out of his daze. "Mom..." he whispered, "I don't feel good."

"I know, I know. That's why I'm taking you to the hospital." Shirley said in a soothing, yet worried voice.

She got Keith to the car yet let Danny and Laurie actually get him in to the passenger seat. Rounding the car she slid in to the driver's seat and fired up the engine. When Keith was secure and the doors shut, Shirley backed the car up on to the streets. She had to get Keith to the hospital pronto, there was nothing else for it. He was sick; a lot sicker than the doctors realized. Shirley just hoped that it was nothing serious.


	2. Tests

**Hope and Memory**

by

**Numb3rsfan**

Chapter Two: **Tests**

Shirley hugged her son close to her, walking slowly so that Keith could keep up with her. Even though Keith's legs were longer and theoretically he could walk faster than she could; in his weakened state he could barely stand without assistance.

Entering in to the hospital, Shirley approached the check-in desk, glad to find that a nurse was there.

All around them in the waiting area were twenty to thirty other patients. Some had gauze wrapped around their heads, others were coughing; all quite obviously sick. Such was any hospital to be honest. The number of patients waiting to get in worried Shirley because normally hospitals worked on a first come first serve basis, so if that was the case then they were at the bottom of the list.

"Excuse me, my son needs to see a doctor." Shirley said to the nurse who just looked at her blankly for a moment.

The nurse then looked at the huge book in front of her before asking, "Do you have an appointment?"

Shirley shook her head. No Keith didn't have an appointment, which meant it was going to take a long while before any doctor could see him.

"No, but he just vomited like an explosion." Shirley said, holding Keith close to her. The nurse looked at Keith, sighed and then started to flip through the book, looking for an opening in which she could slot Keith in.

"Name?" The nurse asked.

"Uh...Partridge, Keith." Shirley said as she watched the nurse jot down Keith's name.

"Okay if you will just have a seat we will get you in as soon as we can." The nurse said, gesturing to the waiting room. Nodding her head in thanks Shirley helped Keith to the waiting room. Stopping by two empty chairs that were side-by-side, Shirley helped Keith in to one of them before sitting down next to him.

Seeing how Keith was shaking, Shirley asked if he wanted to lay down. Keith wasn't a baby, heck he wasn't even a small child but somehow he managed to curl up in to a little ball, his legs and bottom torso lying in the one chair and his head and shoulders laying on his mother's lap; the blanket still wrapped around his body.

Keith grimaced and brought both of his hands up to the sides of his face, right below his ears. Even the low whispers of those around him were quite painful to listen to. Everything sounded so much louder than they actually were. That coupled with his vision was just plain murder. Keith's eye sight, while it wasn't fading, it wasn't normal either. Sometimes it would be like he was looking through a magnifying glass and then at different times it would be like he was looking through a rippling pond; ripples playing across his vision.

Time seemed to pass slowly. Once it was a little after 8PM, and then before Keith realized it, it was already 8:50 PM. He barely heard his mother beg the nurse to get him in; barely heard the nurse tell his mother that she was sure it wouldn't be too much longer.

At 9:30 PM, Keith felt the familiar sensations in his stomach. He sat up, mouth barely open. He felt an air bubble on his lips; felt the bubble pop seconds before he lurched over, vomiting on to the white, glossy tiles that made up the hospital floor. He vomited once...twice...three times in quick succession before the nurse that had checked him in came over to him with a small, wet hand towel.

"Sorry." Keith whispered to the nurse, who gently wiped off his mouth before getting to work on the mess that was on the floor.

"That's alright, I can clean it." The nurse reassured him. She hated cleaning up puke but this teen's face was so full of remorse at what he'd done that she couldn't get mad at him.

The nurse was about to pat Keith's knee reassuringly when she looked in to his eyes. The small smile she had had on her face disappeared as she reached in to her back pocket and pulled out a pen light. Flicking it on she shone the light first in Keith's left eye, holding it there for a moment, before shining it in his right eye.

Noting the pupil size before and after, as well as the reaction of both pupils, the nurse looked at Shirley, worry shining in her eyes.

"I'll get a doctor right away." The nurse said. Rising to her feet the nurse briskly walked down the hall and through a set of doors.

Not two minutes later she came back and with Shirley's assistance the both of them helped Keith to stand. Following the nurse, Shirley and Keith went down the hall, through the set of doors and in to an examination room.

After taking a quick set of vitals, the nurse helped Keith on to the short exam bed that was in the middle of the room before she left the exam room.

After a moment, a doctor in a white lab coat entered the room, a folder in hand. "Good morning, I'm Doctor Reyes. I understand you have a sick boy Mrs. Partridge." Dr. Reyes began as he shook Shirley's hand.

"Yes, Keith's been under the weather for several days now. Aches, fatigue...I took him to his doctor earlier today and he prescribed some antibiotics for him. But, well...after dinner Keith started vomiting." Shirley explained.

The doctor nodded his head but didn't say anything as he took his first good look at Keith. He preformed another eye exam, shining his pen light in to Keith's eyes and noting the reaction. The reaction...or rather...lack of reaction was puzzling to Dr. Reyes. The pupils were both different sizes; one being about the size of a pen head and the other being about the size of a quarter; this coupled with the fact that they both responded sluggishly to light meant that there was something terribly wrong with Keith Partridge.

"Okay Keith, we are going to try something alright? Now, I want you to take your forefinger and touch your nose with it, then bring your forefinger back out. Alright? Do you think you can do that for me?" Dr. Reyes asked. He pulled up the small stool and sat down in front of Keith, watching as the teen raised his right index finger and slowly brought it to his face, but instead of touching his nose, his index finger went past his cheek, heading to his right ear. Okay, that was definitely not good, but the doctor needed to be sure.

"That's alright, that's alright. Let's do it one more time Keith. Forefinger to the nose and back." Dr. Reyes said. He watched Keith attempt the maneuver again and once again Keith missed his nose and headed for his right ear. Dr. Reyes sighed. It wasn't a fluke. Keith Partridge was very sick and yet...there was one more test.

"It's alright. Now Keith, there's one more test I'd like to run." Dr. Reyes said, rising from his seat and pushing the stool back towards the wall.

On the small exam bed, Keith looked totally drained. He was pale and his eyes were droopy; almost as if he wanted to fall asleep right then and there.

"But I'm so tired." He complained. He groaned when his mother came to him and helped him off of the bed with a reassuring, "It's okay sweetie, we're almost done."

Dr. Reyes made sure to keep a calm look on his face...for Keith and Shirley's sake. He eyed the yellow line that was on the floor. This test...this one finally test should tell him everything he should need to know. If his worst fears were confirmed then...well...Keith was going to be hospital bound for the foreseeable future.

"Okay Keith, see this yellow line on the floor? I want you to walk along the left side of the line, placing one foot in front of the other." Dr. Reyes said. The doctor watched as Shirley let go of her son and backed up along the line. Moments later Keith took a shaky step, and then another. On his third step his right foot bent inward, causing him to cross the line. On Keith's fifth step he actually fell; Shirley having to reach out to catch her son before he hit the floor.

When Keith fell, it really scared Shirley. She had never seen her son like this. What was wrong with him?

With eyes full of worry she looked up at Dr. Reyes who patted her back in a friendly manner. "It's alright, I've seen what I wanted to see. I am going to order a brain scan. Wait here." he said before he left the room.

Shirley hugged Keith tight. A brain scan? Oh no! Was there something wrong with Keith's brain? Images of her husband laying in his coffin during the funeral came to mind. She knew that her husband had died suddenly with seemingly no explanation but the coroners report had said that he had died from an epidural hematoma due to a fall he had taken while teaching Keith how to play baseball.

Standing up, Shirley helped Keith in to the nearest chair, knowing that just leaning against her couldn't have been all that comfortable for him. Her thoughts then began to go to her other children. While it was late, she knew that they would all want to be there at the hospital to hear the results of the tests; even the young ones.

When two nurses came in and got Keith on to a gurney, Shirley followed them along as far as the actual x ray room. Keith was scared; not of the actual x rays themselves but of the whole entire situation, but he was so tired that he could barely complain. Once Keith was gone, Shirley headed for the nearest payphone and contacted Reuben. She didn't really explain anything other than telling him that Keith was very sick and was in the hospital. She then asked if he would pick up the kids and bring them on over to the hospital. Thankfully Reuben agreed; stating that he'd be over shortly.

Hanging up the phone, Shirley returned to the waiting room to wait on the results of the x rays.


	3. Complications and Results

A/N: Thank you all for being so patient with me, and thank you Maria for contacting me about completing this story. RL has been really hectic, especially in dealing with the sudden loss of my father just a few short weeks ago, but as I try to deal with that, I realize I need to get back to my stories; stories that people have been waiting for me to finish, so here I am; back…to try my best to finish at least some of them.

**Hope and Memory**

By

**Numb3rsfan**

Chapter Three: **Complications and Results**

It had been roughly two hours since the doctors had taken Keith back to get x-rays taken of his brain, and in that span of time Reuben had arrived with the rest of the Partridge Clan, and all of them were then waiting in the doctor's office, waiting for the doctor who had examined Keith to come in with the test results. Shirley hoped it wasn't anything too serious but deep in her heart she knew better. She had never seen her son act that way before; had never seen him that sick before so whatever was affecting her son, it had to be serious.

"I'm sure Keith's going to be fine." Reuben Kincaid, the family's manager and friend said, hoping to lighten the mood. Shirley smiled, nodded her head and patted Reuben's arm, trying to make light of the situation…for the sake of the children. "Reuben's right mom, I'm sure Keith is fine; maybe a touch of the flu or something." Laurie said, hoping to cheer her mother up.

"I hope so, Laurie…I…" Shirley began, but she was interrupted when the door to the office opened and in walked the doctor in his white lab coat, pale green suit, red tie and black pants. Shirley saw a file folder in the man's hands; Keith's file. Knowing from past experience how mothers could be, the doctor decided not to mince words. Opening up the file, he took out several x-rays and hung them up to the Partridge family could see them.

"Mrs. Partridge, I am afraid there is no easy way of saying this. The scans have revealed that your son has a brain tumor. You can see it in the pictures here." The doctor said. Turning, he watched Shirley and the rest of them gather round to see the pictures. He knew that more than likely none of them would even know what to look for, so Dr. Reyes took his pen and circled the area.

"It's the size of an orange." The doctor said.

Hearing that, Shirley put her hand to her mouth in shock, while Laurie moved up behind her and put her hands on his mother's shoulders. She was doing her best to try to support her mother, but hearing what the doctor had just said; Laurie felt that she herself needed support!

Lowering her hand, Shirley shook her head. The doctor had to be wrong, he had to be! Keith couldn't have a brain tumor…he just couldn't! Somehow those words must have reached her lips because she saw the remorse in the doctor's face.

"So…what do you plan on doing about the tumor?" Reuben asked. He was trying to be the calm voice of support and reason. He doubted that Shirley would be able to think clearly after receiving this news, so he felt he had to take on the responsibility of paying attention and trying to make calm, rational decisions, even though the final decision would have to be Shirley's.

"I haven't seen a tumor quite like this one, and there is no one here that can read the scans in greater depth, so I am going to send him to Baptist hospital to see a neurologist." The doctor replied, looking from Shirley to Reuben and back. Nodding her head, Shirley took a few steps forward and fixed the doctor with a semi serious look. Taking a deep breath she said, "There is one thing I want to know and I want to know it straight, doctor. Is Keith going to die?"

The 'Death' question. Dr. Reyes knew it well. Some families couldn't handle reality so he dumbed down his response, but Shirley; he could see in her eyes that she was strong enough to hear the truthful answer, and besides she had asked him to be truthful. "It is a possibility." He replied.

__

The next day found Keith in the 5th floor ICU wing. He had been transferred to the hospital in the early morning hours and had just now gotten settled in. He had been poked, prodded, moved and adjusted and had gotten really tired of it, but now it seemed to be done…at least for now. Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye, he turned his head and smiled when he recognized his mother and Laurie come in to view.

"Hey mom." He said softly, the smile on his face when Shirley bent down and kissed his forehead. Normally, like any teenager he didn't like his mother to kiss him, but he had really missed her over the past few hours and now her motherly kiss did seem to make him feel better.

"How are you feeling?" Laurie asked, sitting down in one of the two metal chairs that was beside Keith's bed.

Keith sighed as he thought about the question. He supposed he could make up a drawn out response, but he doubted Laurie would appreciate that so he replied, "Better now that you guys are here, but where is everyone else?"

Sitting down next to her daughter, Shirley put on a forced smile as she reached over and patted Keith's hand in a loving fashion.

"They are in the waiting room; Reuben's watching them. ICU rules; no one under 12 can come in." Shirley explained. Seeing Keith nod his head, Shirley sat back in her chair, grateful that he would now understand why Danny, Chris and Tracy wouldn't be in to see him.

"It's bad, isn't it?"

Looking up, Shirley could see Keith studying her. He always knew when she was in one of her 'moods,' and today was definitely one of them. During the transfer, Shirley hadn't been allowed to come with Keith, so this was the first time she had been allowed to see her son since watching him get wheeled away for x-rays at the other hospital.

When at home Shirley always wanted her children to be truthful to her, so how could she now not be truthful with her son…no matter how much it would pain her to say what she had to?

Sniffling, trying to keep the tears at bay, Shirley said, "The doctors said that um…the x-rays…well…they said that you have a brain tumor."

God, it really tore her apart to say that, but she had to. Watching her son's face; seeing the wheels turning behind his eyes, was almost unbearable to watch. How could a parent have to tell their child that he or she has a brain tumor and could possibly die? No parent, no matter the circumstances, should have to bury their own child.

"Is it cancer, mom?" Keith asked. He couldn't believe it was a brain tumor, and to him a brain tumor automatically meant cancer.

"The doctors didn't know, that's why they are running some more tests." Laurie replied. Walking footsteps caused all three Partridges to look to the right to see a nurse approach them and tell Shirley that the doctor was ready to see her now. Nodding her thanks, Shirley stood up, followed seconds later by Laurie. "We will be right back, honey." Shirley replied, giving her son a hug before she left the ICU, with Laurie in tow.

_PFPFPFPFPFPFPFPFPFPFPFPFPFPF_

Shirley and Laurie followed the nurse who showed them to the office of the doctor who would be essentially taking over Keith's case. Entering in to the large office, Shirley saw the doctor leaning against his desk, an x-ray in hand.

Noticing Shirley and Laurie, the doctor put the x-ray down, stood up and walked over to them.

"Good morning, I am Doctor Ftesi." The doctor said, shaking hands with Shirley and Laurie before guiding them to the chairs.

Once they were all seated, Doctor Ftesi immediately got in to the thick of things. "I assume Doctor Reyes told you that Keith's condition is very serious?"

Shirley shrugged her shoulders. "It's a brain tumor. How much more serious can things be?" She asked.

Laurie, ignoring her mother's comment, asked "Is it cancer?"

Dr. Ftesi picked up the x-ray and glanced at it before replying, "We don't know yet. The immediate problem is the fluid building up around the tumor. If left unchecked it could burst the cavity wall."

Shaking her head, Shirley asked "Is that what feels like water in his ears?"

"Yes, it is also what causes his ear aches. We will have to drain this fluid before I can operate, so in a few hours I will be inserting a shunt in to Keith's brain." Doctor Ftsei replied.

This was all hard to listen to. Tumors, cancer, shunts. It was almost too much to understand, but both Shirley and Laurie did need to understand; if not just for them but so they could explain it to Keith. It always sounded better coming from a loved one rather from a cold, careless doctor.

"When would you operate on the tumor?" Laurie asked.

"Well, if Keith survives the next few days and he gains strength quickly I could operate next week." Dr. Ftesi replied.

"And then he'd be cured?" Shirley asked.

Doctor Ftesi was looking for that question and now with it asked, he had to be truthful. Putting the x-ray down, Doctor Ftesi put his hands together and leaned forward.

"Mrs. Partridge. The tumor is in a difficult position. It's in the mid brain. This area controls a lot of different functions; vision, hearing, speech…appetite control. Any or all of these functions could be affected by the surgery. It is possible that Keith could be paralyzed…assuming of course that he survives the operation at all."

The rest of the meeting was all a blur. All Shirley could think of was the fact that her son could die or become paralyzed. The walk back to the ICU was also a blur. What could she say to Keith? The truth? How would he take it? Heck…she herself was barely coping with it and she wasn't even the one who was sick!

"Mom, it'll be okay. Keith'll make it through the surgery." Laurie said, trying to be supportive.

Glancing at her daughter, Shirley tried her best to keep the tears out of her eyes as she replied, "I hope so honey, I really hope so."


	4. Cards

**Hope and Memory**

By

**Numb3rsfan**

Chapter Four: **Cards**

The operation to put the shunt in to Keith's brain went smooth as silk. During the operation, Doctor Ftesi and the nurses removed 12 ounces of fluid, which was a lot considering the size of the tumor. Over the course of the next few days, Shirley was very vigilant; staying by Keith's side for as long as she could. Laurie would stay at home with the kids; she would cook and clean house while Reuben did the school transportation bit. Shirley really appreciated the both of them because with Laurie basically taking over her role, and Reuben providing transport, it allowed Shirley to spend more time with Keith.

As day turned in to day, Keith showed little sign of improvement. Each day Doctor Ftesi would come and check his pupils, perform some hand/eye coordination tests and strength tests and each and every time Keith seemed as weak as a jaybird. After the 4th day, Doctor Ftesi drew Shirley and Reuben (who had stopped in after dropping Laurie, Danny, Chris and Tracy off at school) aside and said "We are going to have to postpone the operation, I'm afraid. It is a long operation and with Keith as weak as he is, there is no way he could survive at this point."

"There must be something you can do, some medication you can give him." Shirley said in a desperate manner. She hoped the doctor wasn't just going to give up because if he did then Keith was a goner, and Shirley couldn't even begin to fathom the possibility that she could lose her son to something as small as a brain tumor.

"Mrs. Partridge, we are doing everything we can; everything medically possible. Now, the rest has to come from Keith. Determination…inspiration…whatever you want to call it, that has to come from him." Dr. Ftesi replied.

Shirley nodded in understanding, glancing back at Keith who had rolled over on to his side, facing away from the window that had the sunlight pouring in.

"Thank you, doctor." Shirley replied.

Dr. Ftesi nodded, understanding that it was now time to move on to check on his other patients, so he excused himself and left Shirley and Reuben to think.

Licking her lips, Shirley folded her hands and leaned her backside against the wall. She couldn't just tell her son to buck up and think positive; that would never work with Keith. No, he would need a reason to get better; a reason to _want_ to get better, and telling him about upcoming concerts wasn't going to do it. Concerts were more of a Danny thing than a Keith thing, and dating girls…well…he hardly ever spoke about the girls he was dating, and truth be told, the girls never really panned out anyway.

"Shirley, maybe…maybe this is for the best. Maybe…you know…maybe God is calling Keith home." Reuben said. Reuben wasn't a Christian; wasn't even close but he knew that Shirley was, and so he was just trying to say something that perhaps would comfort her. However Shirley just shook her head, not wanting to accept that. "Don't you say that Reuben, don't you say that. Keith needs to have something to live for…I just have to find out what that something is, but what Keith doesn't need right now is that kind of talk. He's going to survive Reuben…he is!" she shot back angrily.

Reuben held up his hands in surrender. He knew where the anger and hostility was coming from and he supposed, if he were in her shoes, he would be as equally angry right now, but Shirley had to see reason. Opening his mouth, Reuben was about to continue when Shirley just walked past him and returned to Keith's side.

__

Two days later Laurie came up for a visit, and with her she brought two sacks filled with cards. Danny, Tracy and Chris had each bought a card, and all of the kids from all of Keith's classes and bought get well cards, signed them and had given them to Laurie. After opening them, Keith gave the cards to Laurie and Shirley who had come up with an ingenious way of hanging the cards on the wall. After they were finished, Keith leaned back and watched the cards glisten in the morning sun.

"I have 84 cards…" he mumbled.

Hearing that comment, Shirley said, "And each one is a prayer for you to get well." Seeming to take comfort in that, Keith looked at the cards once more before shutting his eyes and falling asleep.

A few hours later found Laurie and Shirley going down to the cafeteria for dinner. Upon entering, Laurie said "Mom, why don't you come home to eat. Everyone misses you, and you haven't had a decent meal in weeks!"

Shirley smiled, grateful for Laurie's concern, but she replied "I have to get back to Keith."

"Mom, you can't go on like this. I mean…sleeping in chairs? Living off the occasional sandwich and chips? You need a proper meal and a goodnight sleep." Laurie shot back.

She watched her mother grab a tray and place a bottle of fruit punch, a pre made, wrapped turkey sandwich and a plate full of warm, salty fries on the tray.

"I have to stay with Keith." Shirley countered.

"Mom, the doctors can take care of Keith." Laurie said.

"Like they did your father?" Shirley asked.

Hearing that statement, Laurie stopped. This was something new. Her father had died suddenly because of some sort of bleed in his brain, that's what Shirley had told her when it had happened, but now this statement?

"What do you mean, mom?" Laurie asked.

Shirley sighed and put her tray down before turning to face her daughter. "Laurie, your father and I never told you this but…your father had cancer that ran throughout his body. He didn't want to tell you or the others because he didn't want to worry you. I always suspected that the cancer was the cause of his death but the doctors said he died because of a brain embolism."

Laurie didn't know what to say to that. All this time her mother had…what? Lied? Well…it wasn't really lying but it wasn't the whole truth either.

"Why didn't you tell me mom? Why didn't you tell me the truth?" Laurie asked.

"Because…he asked me not to. He didn't want to have you or Keith to have to worry about cancer, because cancer runs deep in your father's family background. His mother and father both died from lung cancer, and he had developed it as well." Shirley replied.

Shaking her head, Laurie said "Well mom…if what you say is true and dad did have cancer, there was nothing that you could have done for him." She was sure her mom did everything she could to comfort him, but in medical terms there was nothing she could have done.

"You don't know that Laurie, and I don't know that." Shirley shot back.

"You yourself told me that dad had cancer all throughout his body." Laurie replied.

Grabbing her tray, Shirley said "There must have been something. Laurie, listen. Doctor Ftesi said that Keith needs inspiration. You saw his face when he looked at those get well cards. What if that's the inspiration he needs? What if it makes a difference?"

__

Two days later Doctor Ftesi came in to the ICU wing to see something interesting; an entire room basically decked out in get well cards.

"My goodness…look at all this!" He said in amazement, grabbing Keith's chart as he surveyed the cards.

Keith, who had just handed another stack to his mother, glanced at the doctor and replied, "I have 212."

"That's very impressive Keith. You must have a lot of friends." Doctor Ftesi said.

Keith nodded and rattled off the list of friends he had while the doctor studied his chart.

"You should be in the Guinness Book of World Records." Doctor Ftesi said after a moment of studying the chart.

"I doubt that doctor. I bet the Guinness record's a thousand…maybe two thousand!" Keith replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh possibly!" Doctor Ftesi said.

He sat down in a chair and withdrew a small, foam ball that was very light. Holding up his left index finger in front of Keith, he waited for Keith to respond. It was a strength test, combined with a hand/eye coordination test; something that the Doctor had been doing since the day of the operation.

After a moment's pause, Keith latched on to the finger and this time he actually grabbed it; the past few days he had missed it and the doctor had literally had to place Keith's hand on the finger. "Okay Keith, squeeze….as hard as you can." Doctor Ftesi said.

Keith obliged and squeezed. A moment later, Doctor Ftesi feigned a breaking sound and made his finger go crooked as if Keith had broken it.

"Very good. Now, catch!" Doctor Ftesi said, gently tossing the foam ball at Keith. Eyes locking on to it, Keith easily caught it and tossed it back.

"Very good." Doctor Ftesi murmured.

Finishing up is exam he left the room, Shirley trailing after.

Turning to face her, Doctor Ftesi said, "Keith is definitely stronger. I wish we had more time but we don't so I will schedule the operation for Wednesday. Now Mrs. Partridge this is important. Anything you can do to get his spirits up, you know…give him the will to live…it could make a difference."

While Doctor Ftesi then turned and walked off, Shirley nodded her head and murmured, "Okay," to his retreating back.


	5. Teratoma

**Hope and Memory**

By

**Numb3rsfan**

Chapter Five: **Teratoma**

The days slowly ticked by one after another until finally the day of the operation arrived. Shirley had rarely left Keith's side, except for the occasional trip to the restroom or the cafeteria. Chris and Tracy; being the youngest members of the Partridge clan were beginning to feel abandoned by their mother. They understood that Keith was sick but what they didn't understand was their mother's need to stay close to her eldest son. Laurie, who was doing her best to care for the rest of the children, saw how sad and depressed Chris and Tracy were becoming and she had tried to tell her mother but it seemed to fall on deaf ears; it was almost as if Keith had become Shirley's entire world, which in Laurie's eyes wasn't right.

Keith, despite his illness, tried to get his mother to go home and spend time with the rest of the family, but she wouldn't, and after a time he just gave up on trying to get her to go home, realizing how pointless it was.

On the day of the operation, Keith was very scared but he tried hard not to let it show. Because of the operation, the nurses went against the posted protocol and let the younger members of the Partridge clan in to the ICU before Keith was taken up. Laurie had to hold on to Chris and Tracy's hands because they were pretty punchy with their hands and Laurie didn't want the two of them messing with the machines that Keith was hooked up to; mainly the nasal cannula. Danny stood off in the corner, arms folded as he studied his older brother.

When the orderlies came and removed Keith from the ICU, the entire family went to the waiting room that was across the hall from the surgery theater, so just as soon as the doctor knew one way or another, news could quickly be given to the family. Getting Keith to go under was a job and a half, but once that was done and he was well ventilated and stable, Doctor Ftesi and the rest of the team went in. After only ten minutes, Doctor Ftesi saw something that literally made him stop in his tracks and look up at the head nurse.

Wordlessly, Doctor Ftesi eyed the head nurse until she caught the look and leaned over to glance in the two person microscope lens.

"What on earth is that?" The head nurse, Jo Ann Miller, asked.

"It's a teratoma." Dr. Ftesi replied evenly. He was already sure of the identification of the object, but he wanted someone else to see it too, which was the reason he had gotten the attention of the head nurse.

"Is it evasive?" Jo Ann asked.

"I see no plane of separation between the tumor and the brain." Doctor Ftesi replied. After a moment, still eying the teratoma he said, "Suction please. Let's get this thing out."

__

Six hours later, Shirley was still in her seat, being held by Laurie. Chris and Tracy were asleep in their chairs; Chris leaning against Tracy and Tracy leaning against Reuben, who was leaning as far away from them as he could. Danny was by the large windows that overlooked the place. They were on the seventh floor so the view was pretty nice; the tops of buildings, trees and the highway could be seen below, as well as a small shopping center on the other side of the highway.

"Mrs. Partridge?"

Jumping with fright, Shirley glanced in the doorway of the waiting room to see Dr. Ftesi in his surgical scrubs. Thankfully she didn't see any blood on them so perhaps things had gone well?

"Doctor? How is he? How's my son?" She asked, rising from her seat; the rest of the family copying her movements.

"He's alive. Right now that's the most important thing." Doctor Ftesi replied.

"But, what does that mean? Is he blind? Paralyzed? Is he going to be alright?" Laurie asked, beating her mom to the punch on that question.

"Well, we will know a lot more tomorrow. Right now it's still touch and go." Doctor Ftesi replied.

Seeing the doctor's mannerism, Shirley realized that the doctor must be exhausted. "Thank you doctor. You must be completely exhausted." She said.

Wearily, Doctor Ftesi nodded his head before he excused himself. He was tired, but his day wasn't done yet. In the back of his mind he knew he should have told Shirley what he had found in her son's brain but honestly, if Keith didn't survive then Shirley wouldn't need to know the specifics, so right now, as he had said, it was touch and go.

__

That night, thankfully passed without incident. Reuben took the rest of the kids home while Shirley, as usual, stayed by her son's side. Keith was moved back to ICU to let the anesthesia wear off, but even after it had supposedly done so, Keith still didn't wake up. Shirley was worried about her son's lack of response but the nurses all told her that sometimes children were slow to wake up. They suggested that she talk to Keith, so in the early morning hours, Shirley quietly began to talk to her son.

At 11 AM, Shirley was getting tired, but she wasn't going to stop talking. If their was a possibility that Keith could hear her and snap out of his coma, then Shirley was going to keep at it.

"Keith, do you remember how excited you were when Tracy was born? I could tell that the minute you saw her you loved her so much. That's the same way your father and I felt when you were born. You were all wrapped up in that bright, blue blanket with a snow white cap on your head. You were so small and fragile and your father and I? We loved you so much." Shirley said.

She stopped talking and glanced out the window. It was another day. Another day of what? If's, ands and buts? The doctors were running test after test after test and they couldn't seem to come up with any answers.

"And I love you too…mom."

The voice was a whisper but it was one of the sweetest things Shirley had ever heard. Looking back, she saw that Keith was looking at her, his blue eyes searching her face intently.

A smile came to her face as she took Keith's limp hand and held it, marveling at it's chilled feeling.

"I had a weird dream." Keith murmured, "I dreamed that I floated out of my body and I was up in the air looking down at it. I saw all of the doctors working. Then I went through a tunnel. At the end it was bright; almost like the sun. Dad was there and he looked happy to see me. I reached out towards him but I heard you calling for me. That's why I came back. Funny dream."

Shirley listened intently to what Keith said, and while she agreed that it was a funny dream, in her heart she realized how close she had come to losing her son.

A few hours later saw Shirley and Laurie; who had decided to skip school that day, in Doctor Ftesi's office. The doctor looked grim and that sinking feeling that Shirley had had all the previous night came back with a vengeance.

"It's bad news, isn't it?" She asked as she took a seat next to her eldest daughter.

"Your son's tumor is very very unusual. It's a teratoma." Doctor Ftesi began. Hearing that, Laurie looked very confused. "A teratoma?" she asked, "What's a teratoma?"

"Yes, it's actually a living thing. It has hair, nails and teeth." Doctor Ftesi said.

Shirley, confused, just shook her head and said, "Wait just a minute Doctor Ftesi. This thing…this teratoma…is inside my son's brain?"

"Yes." Doctor Ftesi replied evenly.

Shirley sighed, obviously shocked and not knowing what to say. Seeing that her mother wasn't going to speak up right away, Laurie asked the question that was nagging at her mind.

"How did it get there, doctor?"

"We don't know. The tumors are usually congenital. We have never seen one in the brain before; they usually grow in the abdomen." Doctor Ftesi said.

Rising from her seat, Shirley started to pace the floor. She couldn't believe this. It was impossible! "Then…then you've made a mistake." She said, conviction dripping in her words.

Almost immediately, Doctor Ftesi shot down that notion. "No, we all got a very good look at it. I did manage to remove about 75 percent, but I was afraid to go deeper. It's in an area that controls important functions and it would have been too dangerous."

Laurie sighed and shook her head. "Doctor Ftesi, this is crazy. Why didn't you tell us this last night?" she asked.

"Miss Partridge, it would have seemed even crazier last night, and well…if Keith hadn't of pulled through then you all wouldn't have needed to know the specifics." Doctor Ftesi said.

Shirley, gaining some semblance of control over her emotions, asked "This thing? Will it grow back?"

"Yes." Doctor Ftesi replied.

"Is it cancer?" Shirley asked.

After a moment's pause, Doctor Ftesi replied "Yes."

Hearing that, Shirley lost it; her hand going to her mouth in a vain attempt to stop from screaming. Laurie, seeing how upset her mother was, went over to her and lovingly wrapped her thin arms around her mother.

"So um…what do you plan on doing about it?" Laurie asked.

"I have contacted our Cancer Institute about chemotherapy." Doctor Ftesi said.

Shirley shook her head over and over, mumbling "No, no."

"That's where we lost our father." Laurie explained to the doctor. The day after Shirley had told her about her father, Laurie had gone digging in the family files that Shirley had kept hidden, and there Laurie had found everything about her father's illness.

"Oh, I am sorry. Then you know that chemotherapy could be very hard and that Keith would be very sick. Quite frankly Mrs. Partridge. It's such a long shot you might prefer not to put him through it." Doctor Ftesi said.

Hearing that, Shirley couldn't believe he had said that. Biting back her emotions, Shirley figured it was now time to get tough. "You mean just let him die? Doctor Ftesi, I am not going to let that happen. I have waited 16 years for Keith and I am not giving up now!"

Seeing the determination in Shirley's face, Doctor Ftesi just nodded his head. Chemotherapy it was. He just hoped and prayed that it would work for Keith.


End file.
